The first time I saw Ween, I went to the show on speculation. I had their latest album, Chocolate and Cheese, that I had just bought from my friend Charless at the Orange
Monkey in Waterloo. Charless always had good stuff, and he would set aside a pile of music for me each payday. That's proactive customer service!!!I thought the album was cool, but I knew nothing of the band. I did feel that something lurked behind this band too, because they could be poignant and offensive with equal enthusiasm.
I went alone because I could not find anyone else who was interested. I got there early and staked out a place in the second row. In front of me were two flirty EMO girls and I was surrounded by what looked like Grateful Dead fans. Well the joints started flying around, and all of a sudden I was in the midst of a very messed up scene. It was incredible... the crowd had been following these guys for a while, everyone seemed to know the songs. Calls for "The Stallion" and "El Camino" really resonated, and I made a note to track these songs down pronto. Deaner launched into the set with a raunchy, feedback-laced version of "You Fucked Up" that was so heavily distorted, it sounded like a buzzsaw. It was the classic lineup: Deaner and Gener up front, Claude Coleman on drums, and Andrew Weiss on bass. 
About halfway in, the flirty girls started making out with each other, and then the bassist came over to the edge of the stage and got into the action too. The girls began to rub his crotch, but he never missed a note... all of this insanity unfolding right in front of me. Gener was laughing, and hamming it up... starting a number of songs with "We're Ween".
I went to the show knowing nothing about the band and left realizing that I had just stumbled onto this vast underground band and fan network.
Over the years, most of my friends have adopted Ween as their own, and when they now come to town, it requires careful planning and coordination of tickets. The influence of this first Ween show for me was far reaching. This concert was the spark that ignited a huge following that runs like wildfire through my network of friends.
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